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About this project

Outlasting the Dead is a PC based 3rd person over the shoulder action zombie shooter game in development by SilverHelm Studios. The story takes place in the year 2050 following an apocalyptic outbreak of zombies inadvertently unleashed when Necromancers enact an ancient revenge upon a sneering society.

Unfortunately the outbreak of the risen dead quickly spreads out of their control and becomes a massacre of the living, with a black magical necrotic infection reanimating the newly deceased. Enter the gamer into the shoes of one of 12 unique Avatars trying to survive the myriad of relentless zombie hordes following the fall of civilization forever known as N-Day.

While Outlasting the Dead incorporates some story elements to set the stage and introduce each Avatar, the main focus of the game is on survival, and pitting your wits, weapons and your environment to survive 100 waves of the living dead. We’ve taken several great shooter elements and wrapped them into a refreshing take on the “zombie game stigma” that gives a lighthearted, albeit gory, crude, and sometimes farfetched, approach to run and gun survival.

The bottom line goal of Outlasting the Dead is to make a game that, we as developers, would want to play for years and then take that same experience and give it to gamers and zombie fans. Every design element, every user interface, every nuance of gameplay is viewed from the gamers perspective with the hope that this game will be timeless and set the foundation for numerous expansions, DLC and a great game shelf life.

Outlasting the Dead has:

• Fast paced zombie slaying, skull popping, bullet flying, explosion ringing finger numbing action that always has you looking over your shoulder.• 12 playable Avatars (2 of which are rare) with a level cap of 75• 60 interchangeable and customizable Avatar outfits (12 of which are rare) with hundreds more clothing items planned.• 9 different zombie types ranging from slow and small, too big and fast.• 5 Unique and challenging zombie bosses• 8 different game modes supported by single player and up to 4 player online Co-op• 15 different upgradeable weapons ranging from a 9mm pistol to an automatic grenade launcher with dozens more planned.• 4 types of traps with 12 total traps available for defending yourself and your friends.• 10 multi-level maps from locations ranging all over the globe.• 12 Avatar specific melee weapons.• 19 Avatar specific executions.• Multiple voice acted Avatar specific sound tracks that can be interchanged.• Three difficulty settings in case easy, is just too darn easy for you.• The ability to manipulate your environment.• Random zombie attacks. Just because it happened one way doesn’t mean it’ll be the same next time. Each level will have multiple strategies that can be used to change the gameplay experience every time you play.• Player medallions (achievements) and title rewards for being awesome that can be displayed in game as well as viewed online via the SilverHelm Studios website.• And tons more!!!

What makes Outlasting the Dead unique?

Unlike conventional shooters, Outlasting the Dead incorporates the use of traps and moveable environmental elements as part of the strategy needed to get from one wave to the next. While zombies that appear are generated and spawn randomly, the ability to set up traps that are both kinetic and non-kinetic, using nearby objects to make obstacles for the living dead and even being able to brace barricades while shooting zombies at point blank range is a tremendous arsenal of tactics available to player(s).

Players can traverse the terrain by sprinting, jumping, vaulting over objects making you one with the environment that, often times, will save your life. Outlasting the dead also has a melee system that lets players build up their physical stamina and then explode that energy in vicious animated Avatar specific executions.

Why do we need your help?

Great ideas can’t be brought to life for free. While there are two of us currently developing the game, all the muscle required to make this game a reality is going to be invested in independent contractors for art, animation, special effects, programming, sound editing, voice talents and a plethora of other items needed to make a great shooter succeed. As you’d guess, we also have day jobs, and the time required to make this game meet the polished standard we expect to release would take literally years to produce without further help and funding.Our desire is to avoid setbacks by utilizing multiple resources simultaneously so even if delays occur, it won’t stop the game’s production entirely. With your help to fund our development we can advance ahead smartly 10 times as fast and make a genuine product that will be appreciated, vice a mediocre, rushed hack indie game that falls by the wayside and is a failed opportunity to start a new legacy of gaming.

Why should you care?

1. As legacy gamers who arose from the ashes of the Commodore 64 and Atari 2600 systems all the way up to modern consoles on the market, we’ve seen thousands of games, spent years of our lives at a controller winning, losing, killing, saving, building, destroying and every other element from every game genre in the free world today. We’ve researched games of the same genre for over a year and a half and expanded our thinking of originality to cross pollinate ideas and elements not commonly found in a shooter while still staying true to a beloved and fan crazed gameplay style.

2. We want to make the best game in the world for our fans; as presumptuous and overzealous as that sounds. When all is said and done, we want to be proud of what we’re releasing and then go beyond what we make one time and stay committed with additional content for gamers to keep enjoying the world of Outlasting the Dead for years to come.

3. We won’t quit. Regardless if we meet our Kickstarter goal or not, we won’t back down from making this title. We believe in its success and potential and will spend as long as it takes to make it to the standards we’ve set to release it. That isn’t fluff, it’s the truth. We need your help making it a reality and some patience while we turn the eternal cogs of game development and evolve from ideas and planning, into players mashing mice and keyboards against zombies.

How will the Kickstarter money be used?

We feel you have a right to know what your money will be spent on. First and foremost we should say that the amount we’ve projected for Outlasting the Dead, while healthy, is realistic for a game of this scope, and with careful budgeting (or an abundance of donations) may even allow for an earlier release and faster sneak peeks at upcoming planned DLC.

SilverHelm Studios already owns a license for the Torque 3D engine, we already own a multitude of texture, mesh and special effects filters, we also already have a concept artist (that’s me :D) who works for free. Your dollars would be spent to fill that foundation with part time and commissioned work to breathe life into our game.

To start with we need programmers fluent in Torque 3D to make the game come to life. A gameplay programmer, animation programmer/artist, user interface programmer and a special effects, lighting and camera programmer. We want to make the experience from “start to quit” as enjoyable and incredible as possible, and not just confined to load screens and gameplay.

Next, we need top shelf 3D elements to make the concepts come to life. We’re already in communication to contract an art studio that will use its massive team to create consistent, high quality mesh for all Avatars, clothes, weapons, zombies, bosses and props that we don’t already have. We also need environmental artists to bring life to the post N-Day world, so that looking out a window is just as breathtaking as seeing that creepy abandoned arctic military base with the puffing steam pipes and the flickering lights running on emergency power.

Last is the voice and sounds of the game. Combat is great, but without a good soundtrack, solid sound effects and voice actors, the whole experience falls apart. We’ve scripted an extensive list of Avatar sayings that will be brought to life by actors during fever pitched combat. We’re aiming for bigger than life sounds that make you feel as though you’re actually there when the zombie brain explodes into a shower of squishy gray bits, and even little intricacy sounds like activating a reloading station, picking up dropped credits, or sifting through the UI should be a savory delight for your ears.

If we exceed our goal, that means we can produce the game more quickly by hiring multiple studios and having part-time work upgraded to full-time independent contractors. This also gives us the opportunity to start working immediately on greater content for future expansions. The ultimate goal would be for us to bring all of our part-time people on full-time and hopefully even hire a few more people. If that vision can become a reality by exceeding our asking donation goal, so much the greater for gamers, zombie fans, or even those new to the world of the living dead.

Thank you for helping us turn our dream into reality.

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Pledge $10 or more
About $10

A hearty THANK YOU from us at SilverHelm Studios, LLC, an exclusive in game Outlasting the Dead Avatar hat, only available through this Kickstarter campaign, and your name will be featured in the game credits and on the Outlasting the Dead founders page as “Zombie Contributors”

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $25 or more
About $25

You will receive the exclusive Outlasting the Dead in game title of “Blood Giver” an exclusive in game Outlasting the Dead Avatar hat, only available through this Kickstarter campaign, a preemptive first look at ALPHA and your name will be featured in the game credits and on the Outlasting the Dead founders page as “Zombie Contributors”

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $40 or more
About $40

You will receive the exclusive Outlasting the Dead in game title and medallion of “Brain Donor”, an exclusive in game Outlasting the Dead Avatar hat, only available through this Kickstarter campaign, a preemptive first look at ALPHA and your name will be featured in the game credits and on the Outlasting the Dead founders page as “Zombie Contributors”

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $250 or more
About $250

An element of game content in one of the 10 original levels named by you. (Note: names cannot violate copyright, trademark or other name infringement) Content such as the name of a hospital wing, a cola brand name, a billboard advertisement, school name, military installation name, street name, dungeon name etc . Plus all the rewards above!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

Create a one of a kind saying that will be added to the voice acted script for our voice actors and incorporated into the game for one of the 12 in game Avatars. (Note: sayings must be respectful and is at the discretion of the Outlasting the Dead development team for final approval based on content.) a preemptive first look at ALPHA and BETA, the "Brain Donor" title and Medallion, and your name will be featured in the game credits and on the Outlasting the Dead founders page as “Zombie Contributors”

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,000 or more
About $1,000

Receive a free copy of the game and all additional DLC available upon release (includes 2 rare avatars, 12 alternate outfits and 5 new weapons) and all DLC created and released for 1 year You will receive the exclusive Outlasting the Dead in game title and medallion of “Mortician”, a preemptive first look at ALPHA and BETA your name will be featured in the game credits and on the Outlasting the Dead founders page as “ Elite Zombie Contributors”.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $2,000 or more
About $2,000

Receive a free copy of the game and all additional DLC available for the life of the game. You will receive the exclusive Outlasting the Dead in game title and medallion of “Bag and Tagger”, a preemptive first look at ALPHA and BETA, and your name will be featured in the game credits and on the Outlasting the Dead founders page as “ Elite Zombie Contributors”

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $5,000 or more
About $5,000

Make your mark on the arsenal of the game by creating your own custom weapon. This can be anything from a potato launcher to a pistol rail gun. You’ll work directly with the Game Designer Chad Dulac to create an original weapon of your choosing, assist in the artistic design and then be able to name the weapon of choice. (Note names cannot violate copyright, trademark or other name infringement). You will also receive a free copy of the game and all additional DLC available for the life of the game. You will receive the exclusive Outlasting the Dead in game title and medallion of “Hand Cannoneer”, a preemptive first look at ALPHA and BETA your name will be featured in the game credits and on the Outlasting the Dead founders page as “Elite Zombie Contributors”

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $10,000
About $10,000

After the game is released we are far from finished making great content. Within the first year, only four additional Avatars will be created as expansion playable characters. With a pledge of $10,000 or more you’ll work directly with the Game Designer Chad Dulac to create an original story, assist in the artistic design of face, hair, starting clothes and 4 additional unlockable or downloadable outfits, and then be able to name the Avatar of choice. (Note names cannot violate copyright, trademark or other name infringement). You will also receive a free copy of the game and all additional DLC available for the life of the game. You will receive the exclusive Outlasting the Dead in game title and medallion of “Epic Survivor”, a preemptive first look at ALPHA and BETA, and your name will be featured in the game credits and on the Outlasting the Dead founders page as “Epic Zombie Contributors”